Two candidates running for the Minnesota Supreme Court have acutely different views of a high court justice’s role.

While Justice David Lillehaug says he believes political bias has no place in a Supreme Court justice’s job, his challenger, Michelle MacDonald, says the leanings that all justices bring to their position shouldn’t be ignored.

According to his website, Lillehaug’s campaign had raised more than $84,000 as of Sept. 16 and had spent nearly $8,000. MacDonald’s campaign had raised about $315 and spent a little more than $7,800.

DAVID LILLEHAUG

If re-elected, Lillehaug, 60, said he would continue to emphasize special courts such as drug courts, because he believes drugs lead to some cases that come before other courts.

“I’m proud that the judicial branch is working to deal with the root causes of these problems,” he said.

Though he said partisanship has no place in the Supreme Court justice race, he has ties to the Democratic Party dating to the Clinton administration. In 1994, President Bill Clinton appointed him to be U.S. attorney for Minnesota.

Lillehaug sought the U.S. Senate nomination in 2000 but was defeated by Gov. Mark Dayton.

Lillehaug went on to represent Al Franken in the 2008 U.S. Senate election recount and Dayton during the 2010 gubernatorial election recount.

Before Lillehaug was appointed to the Supreme Court in March 2013, he had provided pro bono counsel to Dayton during the 2011 government shutdown, according to the governor’s office. Dayton later amended that agreement to pay Lillehaug’s firm $77,000, according to a 2014 report from the legislative auditor’s office.

Lillehaug said he has supporters who represent both Republican and Democratic parties, adding he hasn’t sought and won’t accept a political party’s endorsement.

“The race has shown the virtue of keeping judicial elections nonpartisan,” he said. “I expect the race to be decided on my 30-plus years of experience practicing law at the highest level, my experience as the … chief federal prosecutor, and my performance as a justice.”

MICHELLE MACDONALD

MacDonald, 52, was endorsed by the Republican Party in May to challenge Lillehaug. She said being open about her political views will benefit her in the election and added that she doesn’t identify exclusively with one party.

“I think all of us are a little of all (political parties), and none of us are in a box,” she said. “All judges bring their life experiences to their work.”

MacDonald, a lawyer whose practice is based in West St. Paul, has been practicing mostly family law for more than 30 years. She said she’s running for the position because she wants to be part of the system of checks and balances.

If elected, MacDonald said, she’d like to help to restore Minnesotans’ rights, specifically “their right to be left alone.”

“Over the last 30 years, I’ve seen our rights and liberties eroded,” she said. “We need a strong acknowledgement for all the people in Minnesota that these rights will be upheld and not trampled upon.”

She takes issue with Minnesota Statutes Chapter 518, which deals largely with marriage dissolution, including custody of children.

The courts, she said, should not be a family’s first stop for things like custody battles. Rather, she said, families should be able to agree on their own and go to court if those agreements aren’t upheld.

MacDonald had a falling out with GOP leaders this year when after her nomination, reports surfaced that she was facing criminal charges. Rosemount police said she was stopped for speeding, refused to exit her vehicle and did not take a breath test.

In September, MacDonald was convicted of obstructing legal process and refusing to submit to a chemical test but was acquitted of misdemeanor drunken driving.

In August, MacDonald was ticketed in Wright County for violating terms of her limited license while awaiting the September trial. The Wright County attorney dismissed the case Oct. 9.

MacDonald said being the client, rather than the attorney, in that case was a humbling experience.

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